Portable devices have been known to be used for washing infants even when no bathtub or shower is available.
These known devices can be filled with a washing liquid or be connected with appropriate means for continuous feeding of such liquid.
US20080141452 discloses a portable infant washing apparatus having a rigid support that defines a housing for the infant and is adapted to be partially filled with water.
Particularly, the housing comprises a water inlet in fluid communication with common plumbing fixtures via a hose and a water outlet located in the lower portion and also adapted to be connected to a hose.
The infant housing comprises further compartments for storage of products for washing and rinsing the infant, such as cleansers, sponges and towels.
A first drawback of this prior art arrangement is that the apparatus exhibits poor versatility, as the size of the rigid support cannot be adjusted to the size of the infant or to the outer space available for its installation.
Furthermore, the rigid support is quite bulky, involving highly complex transport and displacement of the apparatus.
This drawback prevents use of the apparatus in combination with health care equipment of predetermined size, particularly infant incubators.
Another drawback consists in that, at the end of each washing operation, the cavity of the support must be washed and sterilized to ensure optimal hygiene conditions for further washing operations, which will increase the time required for washing and preparing the infant and will not fully ensure optimal hygiene conditions.
A further drawback is that the housing of the rigid support restricts access by the washing operator as well as the movements of the infant therein, which will further increase the overall washing times.
Yet another drawback is that the supply and drain hoses are quite bulky, and the apparatus will be hardly placed within the interior compartment of the incubator.
Another important drawback is that the washing liquid is only fed through the hose for filling the housing, which will make the infant rinsing operation particularly complex.
US37099228 discloses a portable washing device comprising a support frame and a disposable cloth designed to be removably secured to the frame for housing an infant during washing.
This device has the drawback of having quite large dimensions and of not being suitable for use in washing infants in a warner.